Willow hasn't been ridden much this winter due to different things, but the main reason is she doesn't like going out alone and my partner and I have different days off. With inconsistent riding comes spooky behavior. This spooky behavior has caused both of my last falls (no I wasn't riding her at the time) Okay so her behavior didn't exactly cause my falls, I could have prevented the falls had I been paying better attention. But her spooky behavior has led to lost confidence in my partner. She gets nervous waiting for the next spook there for Willow gets nervous and spooks more. It is a vicious cycle.
So I came up with a game plan. For one my partner has to get her confidence back so they are going to be doing ground work and riding in the arenas only for now until they find their groove again. And I am going to put 30 rides on Willow over the next two months. Some will be out alone and some will be with others.
Yesterday we had our 1st ride out alone. Before we tacked up though I spent a lot of time doing ground work and just hanging out with her. She was already nervous so I needed to have her calm before riding. After ground work we rode in the outdoor arena. She gave me some really nice walk/gait transitions and then we threw in a little canter work. She was great for that too! After that we headed out to ride the roads around the barn. Not far, but just to bring her to the edge of her comfort zone and then back. I need her to realize I am not going to push her past her comfort zone before she is ready. We ended back by the arena just sitting and taking it all in. She did great despite the wind.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Questions
Some questions I try to make sure I think about when I work with my horses and questions I want answers to when I see others work with their horses. (Not to judge, but to see how the horse is feeling about the situation)
- How much of a threat is behind the cue/command?
- How much pain is the horse receiving from the equipment?
- If the equipment was gone would the horse still be there?
- Do they really have a choice to leave the situation?
- What happens if they choose to leave?
- Is there a threat of punishment if they go?
- What happens in a scary situation? If the equipment wasn't there to control them would they be gone?
- Are they showing little/big signs of stress? Tail swishing, flared nose, big eyes, etc...
- How can we make the situation better for them?
- How little can we do to ask something of them?
- Can we do it without threats?
- What is really motivating them? Fear or curiosity?
- Are they connected with you?
How do you find out these answers? Well with my own horses I watch them, but with others I study the horse. I love watching horse training videos, but I do it with the sound off. Why?Because I can completely focus on what the horses body language is telling me without hearing the trainers description of it. Sometimes the words take away from what is really going on.
Another Lesson
I learned another lesson yesterday. Actually I learned a few lessons yesterday. First off make sure you wear water proof boots to the barn after it snows the night before! Second don't be in a hurry and get frustrated because you were the one who didn't wear waterproof boots to the barn!
I wanted to play with Navi inside yesterday cause it was just a bit chilly to be outdoors. Well about half way down the road to the tack barn she stopped. Refused to go, but was watching something. I gave her time, but she still refused to go. She would back, yield both hips, but would not go forward down the road. Odd for her yes, well at least in this direction. She has a habit of not wanting to go home (which is getting much better), but not going to the arenas. I thought she was just being stubborn. I finally let my frustration get the best of me, (Not proud of this) and started really pushing with some pressure. It wasn't working either no matter how many circles I made her do she wasn't unlocking to go forward. After a few times I realized I needed to calm down and take another look at what I was doing. It was then that I decided just to take her back and start over. I got her back went and took a short break. When I got back we had a really great session in the pasture at liberty. She was responsive and soft. It was then that I realized I had made a BIG error. She wasn't bulking going to the arena because she wanted to it was because she was genuinely nervous about something. I had completely mis-read the entire situation. These are the times I still struggle with not going back into the old mind set. This is where I have to learn how to rewire my brain.
More proof that that something was scary Navi was when I took Pixie down to the arena. Again I wanted to head inside, but we didn't make it that far. Pixie was nervous too. She would stop look around and if I waited for her then she was slowly make her way to me, but then would jump and spin at the slightest noise. We made it to the outdoor arena and I took off her halter and she ran off. It took her a few minutes to calm down and come back to me. I got her to touch the cone a few times, but then I caught her and we went back to the pasture. Something was going on, I just wasn't sure what. Again when we got back to the pasture she started offering behaviors. We got to practice lifting her leg on cue. I got to play with her and Navi at the same time by the gate...it was a lot of fun and interesting to cue one and then the other.
In the end it was all okay, and it was a lesson I needed to have. I am just forever grateful that horses are so very forgiving and allow us to make these big mistakes to learn from.
So what lead up to this situation. It was the combination of me being cold and having wet toes that lead to my frustration. Something was making Navi nervous (I don't know what), but I wasn't staying calm and relaxed so she didn't have me to fall back on for safety. Do I think we could have had a different outcome if I had just relaxed, maybe, but I also don't think Navi and I are quite there yet in our training. Actually it is me that isn't quite there yet, I have to stop going to an "I" place. I have to stay connected if I expect them to. So it is me that needs to stay in the "we" mindset. She was telling me before we reached the point of no return, but I wasn't listening to her. She was telling me that she was in the "we" mindset here, but down there it is just too scary. I should have listened and worked to find where we lost our connection on the road and just went back to where she was comfortable. Maybe then if I had work with her there we could have made it to the indoor at some point.
Oh and yes today I am wearing waterproof boots!
I wanted to play with Navi inside yesterday cause it was just a bit chilly to be outdoors. Well about half way down the road to the tack barn she stopped. Refused to go, but was watching something. I gave her time, but she still refused to go. She would back, yield both hips, but would not go forward down the road. Odd for her yes, well at least in this direction. She has a habit of not wanting to go home (which is getting much better), but not going to the arenas. I thought she was just being stubborn. I finally let my frustration get the best of me, (Not proud of this) and started really pushing with some pressure. It wasn't working either no matter how many circles I made her do she wasn't unlocking to go forward. After a few times I realized I needed to calm down and take another look at what I was doing. It was then that I decided just to take her back and start over. I got her back went and took a short break. When I got back we had a really great session in the pasture at liberty. She was responsive and soft. It was then that I realized I had made a BIG error. She wasn't bulking going to the arena because she wanted to it was because she was genuinely nervous about something. I had completely mis-read the entire situation. These are the times I still struggle with not going back into the old mind set. This is where I have to learn how to rewire my brain.
More proof that that something was scary Navi was when I took Pixie down to the arena. Again I wanted to head inside, but we didn't make it that far. Pixie was nervous too. She would stop look around and if I waited for her then she was slowly make her way to me, but then would jump and spin at the slightest noise. We made it to the outdoor arena and I took off her halter and she ran off. It took her a few minutes to calm down and come back to me. I got her to touch the cone a few times, but then I caught her and we went back to the pasture. Something was going on, I just wasn't sure what. Again when we got back to the pasture she started offering behaviors. We got to practice lifting her leg on cue. I got to play with her and Navi at the same time by the gate...it was a lot of fun and interesting to cue one and then the other.
In the end it was all okay, and it was a lesson I needed to have. I am just forever grateful that horses are so very forgiving and allow us to make these big mistakes to learn from.
So what lead up to this situation. It was the combination of me being cold and having wet toes that lead to my frustration. Something was making Navi nervous (I don't know what), but I wasn't staying calm and relaxed so she didn't have me to fall back on for safety. Do I think we could have had a different outcome if I had just relaxed, maybe, but I also don't think Navi and I are quite there yet in our training. Actually it is me that isn't quite there yet, I have to stop going to an "I" place. I have to stay connected if I expect them to. So it is me that needs to stay in the "we" mindset. She was telling me before we reached the point of no return, but I wasn't listening to her. She was telling me that she was in the "we" mindset here, but down there it is just too scary. I should have listened and worked to find where we lost our connection on the road and just went back to where she was comfortable. Maybe then if I had work with her there we could have made it to the indoor at some point.
Oh and yes today I am wearing waterproof boots!
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Be the Change
I have discovered over this past year that many people still use punitive training methods because they don't know any different. 95% of the information out there on horse training is based on a punitive method.
Almost every trainer that comes to my barn uses Positive punishment and Negative reinforcement. I have hope that most people would change their ways if given the knowledge of how. I say most because I know that some would not. Both Positive Punishment and Negative Reinforcement are highly effective ways totrain break a horse. Simply put the methods work and work pretty darn fast so I can't expect that everyone would give them up.We, as humans, have too many control issues.
It is my dream that someday more horse friendly methods will be the norm, but the only way that can happen is for people that use more positive methods to step up and be willing to help others. Not for money, but for the horse. I love being given the opportunity to explain how and why I do what I do. I love for people to question me, not because I want to brag, but because I hope they will want to change their relationship with their horse. I am the first to admit I don't know it all, far from, I learn every day. But I am always looking for a way to better myself. I am more than willing to point out my mistakes and where I went wrong with my horses if it can help keep someone else from making the same mistake.
Almost every trainer that comes to my barn uses Positive punishment and Negative reinforcement. I have hope that most people would change their ways if given the knowledge of how. I say most because I know that some would not. Both Positive Punishment and Negative Reinforcement are highly effective ways to
It is my dream that someday more horse friendly methods will be the norm, but the only way that can happen is for people that use more positive methods to step up and be willing to help others. Not for money, but for the horse. I love being given the opportunity to explain how and why I do what I do. I love for people to question me, not because I want to brag, but because I hope they will want to change their relationship with their horse. I am the first to admit I don't know it all, far from, I learn every day. But I am always looking for a way to better myself. I am more than willing to point out my mistakes and where I went wrong with my horses if it can help keep someone else from making the same mistake.
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